The smell of pancakes, bacon and eggs wafted through the air, music from the stereo filtering through the entire house, Trey Songz' 'Simply amazing' was the chosen song of the day- well, it was the chosen song for everyday since the first time they heard it.
Both occupants of the house sang along to it, though in separate parts of the house, making sure the other party heard them.
A smile was plastered on Selly's face as she set their breakfast on the table and waited for Chuka to come join her. She couldn't remember a morning spent with him that she didn't smile. His presence made her happy, it warmed her to think that in a month, this was going to be the rest of her life; waking up in the arms of a gorgeous man, hearing him declare his love for her before anything else, watching his beautiful smile, having chit-chats over breakfast before heading for work, meeting up for lunch and then going home with him later in the day to relax and watch the news or a movie. Things couldn't get better than that.
The last two years of her life had been surreal and the happiest in her life, she had met a man who loved her and who made her believe in love, sure he had flaws, but who didn't? She counted herself lucky to have gotten someone as nice, caring and loving as Chuka was, she knew it sounded soppy, but love made one think soppy thoughts.
She smiled as the sound of his voice let her know he was coming closer, that deep, soronous voice that reminded her of Bryan Knight, she almost laughed at herself, she swore she was getting cornier by the day.
"Hey beautiful." He greeted as he walked into the kitchen. It didn't matter that he had called her beautiful eight times just this morning, it was something she was accustomed to hearing.
"Hey handsome." She replied as she rinsed off the frying pan. He came up behind her and pulled her into a hug, she closed her eyes briefly loving the feel of his hard body pressed against hers and breathing in the intoxicating scent of him. She smiled, he was wearing the Calvin Klein cologne she had gotten him for his birthday, he said the smell of it reminded him of her.
He placed a light peck by the corner of her eye, "So, what are we doing today?" He asked, he gave her arms a quick rub before he went to the table. She sighed longingly at the loss of his warmth.
"Working." She replied with a smile as she joined him. He returned her smile and shook his head as he dug into her tasty pancakes, "So,have you applied for that transfer we talked about?" She asked. For the past two months, she had been trying unsuccessfully to talk him into leaving his position as a Literature teacher in a public school in the Bronx, she understood that he felt he had an obligation to help out some gifted but disturbed kids and his determination to do this made her love him even more, but she needed him alive and the school he taught at had a reputation for having teachers turn up dead.
She knew this conversation would end up just like the others- with him assuring her that all was well, and she would take his word for it and let it go, but it wouldn't hurt to try and hope she was successful this time.
Chuka shook his head with a warm smile, "Selly, we've talked about this before, if you need an update, my answer remains, 'no'" he replied. It didn't matter that she had tried to convince him to change his mind more times than most men could tolerate, he always remained calm, level-headed and jocular with his replies like she was bringing it up for the first time.
"Chukky." She whined.
"Selly." He mimicked her tone making her smile, "Seriously baby, I know how you feel about this and I understand it, I would be worried too if the tables were turned and you were in a dangerous situation, but I would also learn to respect and live with it, that's all I ask of you, trust me to keep myself safe."
"But what if something beyond your control happens? What if...what if you're killed?" She asked, her mellowed voice speaking of the fear that gripped her at that thought, she couldn't bear to live without him- no, she just couldn't live if he died.
He took her hand in his and brought it to his lips, "Obi m, I won't be killed, no powers on earth or beyond can stop me from making you my wife, so death shouldn't even be considered."
She gave him a nervous smile and reluctantly dropped the subject, she did have his word.
It turned out his word meant nothing over the things he couldn't control. She vividly remembered the call that came in in the late hours of the morning that same day; it was 11:34, she could never forget the time. Chuks- Chuka's younger brother, had called her and told her he needed to see her and it was urgent, just the sound of his voice had told her something really bad had happened and she couldn't stop her mind from going to Chuka, she went into panic mode, she had asked him a ton of questions all at once, but Chuks had told her it wasn't something he could say over the phone and that he was on his way to her office.
By the time Chuks got to her office, she was already waiting- and crying. Somehow within that ten minutes it took Chuks to get there, she had figured something was wrong with Chuka, why else would Chuks make an impromptu stop at her office instead of Chuka? It was Chuka who made stops, and if ever Chuks did, Chuka would call her and inform her he wouldn't make it, she had checked her call log many times and saw nothing. All she could think of was that morning, dammit she should've insisted! She knew something would go wrong, she should've made sure he never left the house.
As soon as she got into the car, the first words she spoke were, "Where's Chukky?"
Chuks hadn't given her an answer, but going by his blood-shot eyes and trembling fingers, she knew it wasn't good news.
"Chuks, where is Chuka?" She asked, her voice a pitch higher in her agitated state. Still, she got no response, she thought she was going to have a heart-attack with all of this tension.
She couldn't stand it, this suspense, it would kill her, "Damn it Chukwudi, where the fuck is Chuka?!" She screamed using his full name for the first time in....ever.
"He's at the city morgue." He replied quietly, his eyes never leaving the road.
A chill ran through Selly's body, she suddenly lost the ability to breathe, no, it couldn't be, it simply couldn't be, "Wha...what is he...what is he doing at the mor...morgue?" She croaked, her voice low and a rivulet of tears slowly streaming down her cheeks. She waited with lost hope for Chuks' reply, it never came- at least not with words, instead, she watched a teardrop roll down her future brother-in-law's cheek- that was all the answer she needed.
She went numb as realisation hit her like a wave of tsunamic proportions- he was dead. Her rock was gone.
The car slowly came to a halt as he parked in the hospital's parking lot. He turned off the engine but neither of them made any attempt to get out.
"What happened?" She asked quietly after a few minutes. She knew it wouldn't change anything for her, but still, she needed to know.
Chuks took in a deep breath, a sure sign that he was about to say something, "He...he was stabbed...in the chest." He replied coldly, that was the only armour against the pain he felt coldness.
